10 Years of Marriage, 8 nights of Magic-tale of an Eastern-with Pirate photos!

[PaDisneyCouple]

10 Years of Marriage, 8 nights of Magic

And so it begins...
Prologue
We were married 10 years ago, in October 1997. Christine (DW) created a Disney Monster when she insisted we vacation there the year before our marriage. I was hooked, and we both became big fans. Fast-forward now to early 2006. Our 10th anniversary was still 18 months away, but I was already in full planning mode. I get more vacation time than Christine, so I plotted out 3 scenarios to maximize our plans, while minimizing her vacation time usage. We chose the plan that included a 4-night Disney cruise and a Walt Disney World stay of undetermined length. Our first ever cruise was in October 2005, and we wanted another cruise to be a part of the celebration. So, we booked passage on the Disney Wonder for the 4-night departing on 10/28/07. We talked about our plans during our summer 2006 trips to my family’s cottage in the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. In September 2006, we decided to change to a 7-night cruise. Christine really wanted to see Key West, while I was interested in an itinerary that had more days at sea. On 9/22/06, we changed our reservation to the 7-night Eastern Caribbean on the Disney Magic. In short order, we found a thread on the DIS boards cruise meets section about the “Cruising Around the Moon, A Magical All Hallows Eve” cruise.

Our plans developed, and we made new friends, over the course of the next year. First, we added the Romantic Escape at Sea package (REAS). We’d added this to our first cruise, and felt at the time that once was enough. But the advantages tipped the scales in favor of getting it again. It included: Palo dinner, romantic turn-down service, champagne breakfast in bed, gift basket with DCL robes, Tropical Rainforest Room passes, a bottle of wine with dinner, and the ability to book excursions/etc. at 105 days in advance. By this time, I’d plotted out our work schedules, and discovered that we’d both be off on Thursday and Friday before the cruise. One day to finish packing and preparation, one day to get an early flight to Orlando-perfect!

Next up was the selection of lodging for the night before the cruise. We knew that the best plan was to fly in the day before embarkation, so that became the plan. Every hotel possibility went onto a list. There were 3 categories: in the tournament, bubble player, and out of the tournament. Nostalgia won out, as we chose Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge in late March. Prior to our 2005 cruise, we stayed at AKL in the cheapest room we could get. This time, however, would be different. We wanted animals, and we wanted them outside our room. So, savannah view it was.

Time passed. Transfers were booked with a limousine service. Nothing fancy, just a car and driver to whisk us to our destinations. Excursions, Palo dining, and Spa experiences were booked first thing in the morning at T-105. Our Moonie friends counted down the final weeks, then days, together. Finally, it was time for all the planning and chatting to come to fruition.

 

[Babs417]

More More More

 

[frdeb1999]

Looking forward to hearing more!

 

[chepic]

subscribing

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

10/26/07
The alarms were set for 0400 on 10/26. I knew we wouldn’t need them. I awoke around 0330, Christine about 10 minutes later. Subscribing to the “if we’re up early, lets get going early” philosophy, we got ready to head to BWI. The bags were packed and placed in the car the night before, so we only needed to get dressed, have some food, and tell our DIS-mates we were on our way. By 0440, we were on the road.

There was a misty-type rain falling as we headed down I-83 to Baltimore. No traffic issues to impede us, we arrived at the Blue Lot of Airport Fastpark slightly before 0600. A bus followed us to our parking spot, which was so convenient, and whisked us to the terminal. The check-in line for Southwest was almost non-existent, and before we knew it, we were at the gate passing time until our flight.

There was some turbulence on the flight down. Nothing too bad, but the captain kept the seatbelt sign on for most of the flight. He announced that they’d been trying several different altitudes, but to no avail. Upon landing at the gate Sean predicted (I’d been tracking the on-time performance of our flight for a few days), we quickly headed to baggage claim A. A driver from the transfer service met us at the bottom of the escalators holding a sign with our names. Both checked bags appeared quickly, and we were on our way to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We arrived at AKL slightly after 11am, and proceeded to the check-in line. A Cast Member came over to greet us and chatted with us about the amenities of the resort. The wait wasn’t long, but both times we’ve been at AKL, the check-in process has taken longer than at either the Beach Club or Contemporary. Since we were so early, a room wasn’t available for us yet. The CM at the desk said she’d found a particularly nice room on the zebra trail for us, and that we could check back with them in a couple of hours to confirm the exact location.

By now, we were hungry, so we headed to the QSL at AKL, The Mara. As we approached the door, Christine called out, “Hello!” to an approaching family. It was Kim, Brian, and Daniel, from our part of Pennsylvania. Christine knows them from work. She’d exchanged cell phone numbers with them before her last day of work. They were on the Southwest flight before ours, and were spending a week at AKL. We had a nice talk with them, and parted company. They were headed out to the parks, while we were after browse (for ourselves).

Based upon their recommendations, Christine had the African Stew. It contains chunks of meat, and is served in a bread bowl. We both commented on the spices used in it, which reminded us of Marrakesh at Epcot. It was different, yet tasty. Alas, no photos were taken. I dined on macaroni and cheese. Unbeknownst to me, this was a children’s dish, so the portions were smaller. Oh, well, we had ADR’s at Boma, so no worries. It was cute in its Mickey shaped serving container. The mac and cheese was in the head, while an applesauce and fries occupied the ears.

Caloric needs satisfied, we indulged in some retail therapy at Zawadi Marketplace. Then we explored the pool area and adjoining savannah. One of the helpful guides obtained a chart we could use to help identify the animals we were viewing. Upon checking back with guest services, we were informed that our room was most likely ready. It was on the 2nd floor of the Zebra trail, about half way down.

A Mickey towel creation greeted us as we entered the room. After taking a photo of it, we quickly headed to the balcony. A large crane was on the opposite side of Arusha savannah, so all the animals were as far away as they could get. Our view at this point consisted mostly of ****-sapiens. A call to bell services, and our luggage arrived. We decided to explore some more, and visited all the other public viewing areas. By the time this was done, the crane was departing, and the real animals were returning. Both of us agreed that the room this time was nicer, and worth the extra money, even if the animals were hiding for a couple of hours.

 

[Babs417]

You all know how slow I am what is****-sapiens?

 

[birkner]

You all know how slow I am what is****-sapiens?

human beings as oppposed to viewing animals. part of the word was removed because it is considered derogatory.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

How unfortunate. We were using a scientific term to describe what we saw. It was a way to lighten our moods, when we saw none of the expected animals on the savannah at that time. We were afraid we'd paid extra, only to be denied the creatures we expected. Instead, we had 2 trucks, a 4-axel crane, etc.

Used in our context, it refers to the genus of the family Hominidae, of which the only species is the aforementioned term. (according to Webster's, I erred by hyphenating the word)

Later, I'll try to return to post more of our report. Next up: animals, we finally get to see the animals! Plus, eating at Boma.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

One item on our list of things to bring to enhance our experience was binoculars. Christine has a small pair that was easy to pack, so we brought them. As the stars of the show returned to the Arusha savannah stage, Christine could be found on the balcony taking it all in. In all, we saw (or think we saw): eland, Grant’s gazelle, giraffe, kudu, zebra, Griffon vultures, crowned cranes, and flamingos. A plastic bin, which held food, was placed high upon some poles about 50-75 yards out. The giraffe stopped by to take their fill, but once they left, one of the kudu came by. He jostled the bucket with his long horns, ultimately achieving the goal of spilling out the food. The problem was, 90% of what he spilled fell onto his back, where he couldn’t get to it. He aggressively chased away the zebra that dared to intrude, but finally had to yield himself. You see, a giraffe was approaching. Arriving at the now empty bin, he looked in, and came out with this, “what happened?” expression.

Inspired by our grazing friends, we got ready and headed down to Boma. By the time we got there, Boma had been open for about 45 minutes. We were handed a beeper, and told it would likely be a short wait for a table. Christine had barely accepted the pager when it activated. Our server explained the map that we were provided with, and welcomed us to join the line. One thing we didn’t like: the buffet isn’t in the order that we usually eat a meal in. The map had the sequence, but it just seemed disjointed. For example: the hot carving station was right next to the start of the queue, while the salads were over half way down the line. I tried the roast pork loin, and it was very tender and tasty. We finally had the chance to indulge in the magical, mystical zebra domes. Think of a Cadbury Easter Egg, but with a nougat center (like a 3 Musketeers bar). Christine ate one, and I believe I had 2, 3 at the most.

What have we learned?
Boma is very good, but familiarize yourself with the order that the food is presented in. Seeing friends from home is a nice surprise (we thought we wouldn’t see them at all). The extra money for the savannah was worth it. And, finally, AKL can be a destination in its own right, and quite educational (we stopped by several of the photos and displays to read and learn).




10/27/07
Maestro, may I please have the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
All the planning, all the packing, all the DISsing, it all came down to today. We awoke to find a giraffe nearby, quietly standing alone in the dark. After breakfast and packing, we headed down to await our transfer. Christine’s friends appeared with a, “Hello Pa Disney!” greeting. They chatted with us for a little while, which we appreciated, as they were heading to the parks. Typically, nothing can slow us down when that is our goal. Our driver showed up a little after 0900, and we were on our way. I shall not bore everyone with the details of the trip, but here in the State of Independence, the speed limit is 65, tops. On some of the roads we took to Port Canaveral, it was 70. No problems yet. When I saw 85+ on the digital speedometer, I had confirmation that we were a little outside our comfort zone.

We arrived at the Port shortly after 10am, checked in our bags, and processed through security. A greeter at the top of the stairs politely asked if we had all of our forms completed. Kind soul, she didn’t know us very well. That on-line check-in is great. As Castaway Club members, we get the special line, but it was much longer than the new cruiser line so we were directed there. As we settled into line, Christine was handed boarding pass #3. Next, we had our first DIS encounter of the vacation: Dizzi and the family were 1 group behind us. At the same time, I spotted DreamCruiser100 and family at the far right check-in station. We chatted with Dizzi and the gang until it was our time to process in. This went smoothly, except for a printer that appeared to be possessed by an unclean spirit. The first 2 times they attempted to print our KTTW, it printed multiple names over top of ours. After some pixie reboot dust, the problem was solved.

DreamCruiser100 had taken up a position over by the windows, and we headed over to help establish DIS base camp. Her husband was in the process of upgrading them (from a 9 to a 4, I believe). 101 Dalmation Fan and her husband were seated right there, and we got the opportunity to admire her fish extender skills first-hand. Christine spent many hours making one, which she finished just before bed Thursday evening. Moonies, Moonies overload! Chatting for over a year with many of them, now they were trickling into the terminal. I feel bad for those poor souls not DIS-affiliated who wore lime green that day. We got our bracelets from Melanie (DisneyGirl36), and provided PJPoohbear with the DIS green shirts we’d bought and brought (to save shipping charges to Canada). Babs 417 surprised everyone with homemade bracelets. There was so much happiness.

Next: Board the ship, will you!

 

[TotallyAngelic]

This is great - look forward to more!

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Before we knew it, the boarding process started. Group 1 quickly became group 2. There go DC100 and Dizzi. Then, they called group 3. By this point, a cluster of hundreds had gathered around the entrance to the queue. Inspired by the giraffe, we stretched our necks to find the end of the line. A wave of the precious group 3 card, and we were suddenly past the herd, and into the area. In 2005, we weren’t too pleased with our embarkation photo, and the odds were running in favor of skipping this years. Once through the Mickey silhouette, the line came to a halt. It was the first of many opportunities to sanitize. Next came the embarkation photo. A quick glance, and the decision was made. I asked a Cast Member if we could skip the photo. She barely got to say, “Yes,” before we were rocketing up the vacant center lane and onto the gangway. We actually passed several group 2 parties who’d stopped for pictures. Christine definitely had her Disney gear engaged.

We savored the trip from land to sea. This was the moment we’d been waiting for, after all. A Crew Member inquired as to, and announced, our name. Suddenly, we noticed Dizzi’s family was just ahead of us, videotaping people coming on the ship. Having broken free of land, we throttled back, and strolled to Parrot Cay on deck 3 aft. It was our hope to eat our first meal here, as it was the first place we ate at on the Wonder in 2005. Along the way, we encountered several Crew Members, all eager to sell us a wine package or other beverage deal. Sanitized once again, we entered PC, and were immediately seated. Sean enjoyed a nice salad, chilled shrimp, prime rib, some cheese, and a tall glass of milk. Christine went straight for the fresh fruit and some bread.

Hunger now satisfied, we ventured to the Vista Spa and Salon. The fitness center, a popular haunt for us, was double the size of our previous cruise, and we wanted to see it. Andre, one of the fitness instructors, gave us a tour of the facilities including the new villas, expanded fitness center, and rainforest room. Now armed with a list of the week’s fitness classes, we began the journey to our room. Along the way, we passed by the kingdom of A Fat English Gent, one of our Moonie friends. This gave me verandah envy, as well as a sense that our own stateroom was somehow smaller than it was on the last cruise.

It was now 13:30, and the staterooms were ready. We arrived before any of the luggage did, and entered our new home. It was as though Santa had visited the room. There were gifts from our Travel Agent, our Castaway Club gift, excursion tickets, and all the amenities of the Romantic Escape at Sea package. Pictures, of course pictures had to be taken at this moment. And, there are the H2O Sea bath products, in 3-ounce tubes! Next, the verandah was explored, at which point we found an inch or more of water covering most of it. Crates of provisions were still being loaded onto the ship several decks below our room, including many large pumpkins. It is the Halloween cruise, don’t you know.

A soft knock at the door signaled the start of luggage delivery. Our 4 pieces arrived one at a time, as we prepared for the 3pm Moonie meet up on deck 9 at the Goofy pool. More Moonie friends were met at the meet: Gizimoto, JNS, Twicks, Howleyfamily, Jordgrubbin, and more. About 3 dozen of us were able to gather in the gazebo for a series of photos to commemorate the occasion. Oh, the looks on the non-DIS-ers faces, “Who are these loud, happy, green people? And how could they be having so much fun already?”

Next: fateful sea condition predictions, sign-please, and we get the party started.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

We returned to our stateroom, to continue the unpacking process. Moving everything from the suitcases to the room dressers and closet really does give one a sense of home. Almost 4pm! You know what that means: Muster Stations! Unfortunately, there was another soft knock at the door. It was Orlando, our stateroom host. He asked if all our baggage had arrived, which it had. Next, he needed me to sign for all the items on the bed and more. I’m standing there, pfd at the ready, trying to sign about a dozen receipts. Done with that, we headed to our assigned muster location: Animator’s Palate. There were only a few dozen people already there, and most were crew members. It was slightly before 4pm, but only a few minutes earlier than we were last time, I think. The drill was painless and brief. Most at our station were paying attention to the instructions, which was good. Otherwise, we were going to trade them to another station. “All those here to goof off, and ignore this potentially life-saving exercise, right over here…” One small note, dear reader: please keep the young ones away from the whistles. It doesn’t take much to get them going, and they turn out the decibels in abundance. Ear pain not enough incentive? How about the germs from all the children of cruises past, lurking there?


Confident in our ability to survive, we returned to the stateroom, where the unpacking process continued. Items were already being moved into new and improved locations. Remembering the magic of our first cruise, we headed up to deck 10, starboard side, to view the activities. We overheard some older couples behind us talking about the predicted seas. I inquired as to what the forecast was, and was told 1-4 feet. Better than our last cruise, I thought. How wrong he was! Time to be turnin’ around! Interestingly, I don’t remember seeing any of them again on the cruise. Holy cow! Its 20 minutes until dinner, and we’re barely halfway down the channel. We need to get dressed for dinner!

With the knowledge and assistance of PJPoohbear, we linked dining with several other DISers who had main dining. This also allowed us to score the coveted PLAPLAP rotation. Why is this so important? Formal night in Lumiere’s, Parrot Cay for Pirate Night, and Animator’s for semi-formal night. Quite simply, the perfect rotation. Ahhh, savory enhancements!


We knew we’d be with friends, we just weren’t sure if it was a table for 8 or 16. Arriving at table number 3, we saw that 8 would be the magic number. Table 2 was another grouping of 8 DIS friends. Our mates for the week would be: PJ and her Mom, Paula (Vital) and son Ethan, and Kimmielee and son Noah. 2 for 2! We’ve been with other DIS-ers for both our cruises. Now, a disclaimer must follow: if you’re looking for saucy tales of jocularity, frivolity, and debauchery…that’s not what happened at the dinners. Food based dinner highlights include: Banana bread pudding for Christine, mixed grill (filet, lamb, shrimp) for Sean, and banana bread for the entire table. The kids enjoyed it so much; a request was made to have it every night. Oh, who are we kidding, the adults were kind enough to help the kids finish it, every night.

It was a little bumpy as we headed out to explore after dinner. Signs of things to come, I’m afraid. The stores were very crowded, and based upon our shopping experiences later in the week, we’d recommend skipping the stores the first night. A towel cobra greeted us as we returned to our room. It was carried with great care over to the table, where it could keep watch over us as we slept.

Next up: we've got an entire week ahead of us, now what do we do? And, "Look honey, horizon...no horizon"

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Among the many items we picked up during embarkation day were sheets about the Vista Spa services, fitness classes, and the Voyage Navigator. Over the course of the day, we took turns reviewing each, and marking those things we wanted to experience. The world was our oyster. There were no wrong answers. Anything that looked interesting got marked. This didn’t mean we were committed to the marked items, or wouldn’t consider those passed over. We quickly eliminated the Spa services, especially the Spa villas, as they were a little pricey for us. Christine was considering the package deal for 3 personal training sessions, while Sean highlighted ballroom dancing lessons, of all things!

Mickey’s voice greeted us at our 0620 Sunday morning wake up call. In fact, Mickey really wanted us to get off to an early start, as he called back 5 minutes later to remind us of all the activities planned on the ship that day. Our plan was to start the day with something new: yoga. There was a class scheduled for 0730, at the secret deck 7 aft area. Needing some food, we set out in search of sustenance. In what would be the start of a cruise tradition, we found ourselves at Goofy’s Galley. Christine got some fresh fruit, Stollen bread, and milk (her request for juice was denied, and she was directed to the beverage station). Sean met his new best friend: cherry lattice. It’s basically a cherry Danish, in rectangular form. But, the size was just right for a morning snack.

Gazing out to the distant horizon, Sean observed the pitching of the starboard side of the Magic, relative to the horizon. It was a pretty good travel distance from peak to trough. The seas had risen to 4-8 feet, according to the TV, and the winds were about 15 knots. Deck 7 has this nice little lounge area at the stern of the ship, and that’s where the yoga/stretch class was scheduled to be held. Alone at first, we were then joined by a woman, Andre (the instructor), and finally, a man. Andre had us roll out our mats in a bow-stern direction, and we began. Christine has more Pilates and yoga experience than I do, but we both enjoyed it. The biggest challenges were keeping your mat from flying away or hitting you and not falling over. The port/starboard movement wasn’t alone, we had the up and down movement at the stern, too. Class was dismissed 5 minutes early, due to rain.

Our Palo brunch reservation was for 10:30, and now it was 08:10. Time to break out those Rainforest Room passes!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Looking for the next installment!!!

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

great tr so far - can't wait to follow along for the rest!

 

[LovableGluttons]

Wow! I didn't know they offered yoga or ballroom dancing classes!

More please!!

 

[fairfax]

Great report! I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Our Palo brunch reservation was for 10:30, and now it was 08:10. Time to break out those Rainforest Room passes! We got our locker keys at the desk, and quickly got changed. There was but one other couple in the room when we arrived. Sean quickly discovered his “inner lizard”. (This moniker originates, we believe, with Oybolshoi.) The gentle rocking of the ship. The soothing warm chair. Bliss. No worries. No job stress. Just be. Being the inquisitive sort, Christine strolled around the room, examining all the facilities. Her first stop was the aromatic spa, followed by the steam room. Sean tried the aromatic, which we both felt had no discernable aroma. Upon entering the steam sauna, Sean felt as though his eyes themselves fogged up. It was painful to the sinuses, and you couldn’t see a darned thing. Oh, well, back to that nice warm lounge. A little while later, Christine beckoned to join her in the gentle heat room. This was enjoyable: no steam, just a nice, hot room. Together time. We stayed for about 10 minutes, and then decided it was time to get ready for brunch. After all, we’d been in the Rainforest Room for about an hour now.

A suggestion from the DIS, which we whole-heartedly endorse, is showering at the Spa. There is more vertical clearance (helpful to anybody taller than, say, 68”), more water pressure, and a nicer showerhead. A downside is that the product containers (shampoo, conditioner, bath gel) could be empty. We reconvened back at the stateroom, where Christine discovered that she’d left her swimsuit at the Spa. So, back she went. It took some work, but the suit was located. (The efficient staff had already been by, and emptied the laundry hampers).

Now, it was Palo brunch time. Our reservation was for 10:30, and of course, we were slightly early. At the check-in station, we saw several DIS friends, who were booked in the private room. Soon, we were seated at a window table, starboard side, just off the ship’s centerline. On our way to the table, we selected our champagne. I don’t recall too many specifics, but I believe it had a taste of raspberry. It was here that we had our first met Fabio. Fabio, from Sao Palo, Brazil, was our server. He quickly took our beverage orders, and requested that we wait a moment, and he’d give us a tour of the food stations.




The Palo brunch has several stations: seafood, cheese and crackers, breakfast pastry, pizza, special hot items, and desert. Fabio advised us to use the little desert spoons, as they would “make things last longer”. Christine ordered a sausage pizza, while Sean selected pepperoni. Sean decided to order one of the new chef’s items: pasta in a smoky cream sauce with smoked salmon. It was excellent. Shrimp, crab legs, crab claws, cinnamon danishes worthy of Cinnabon, shrimp and tuna v-8 shooters, stollen bread, tiramisu, cheese…gluttony and excess. Yet, I don’t recall either of us being particularly stuffed. I believe it was because we tried small amounts of many things, rather than loading up large servings. At one point, Christine was up hunting and gathering, when Fabio came by to talk with Sean. Fabio had recommended a particular cheese, one with just a hint of regular pepper in it that proved quite tasty. We discussed the cheeses available, and Fabio offered to get a sample of several for Sean. All of them were very good. Though I must say, the Gorgonzola was described as mild, and it was especially so. But, it was the first time I’d had a course devoted to cheese, and I really enjoyed it. Everything was good. In fact, the service was so good that we asked Fabio if we could be seated in his section the next evening for dinner.

Brunch completed and dinner plans enhanced by seating in Fabio’s section, we set forth in search of things to do. Our next stop: the shopping presentation.

...which might be titled: I'll have what he's having...

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Our next stop: the shopping presentation. Being the first cruise where we intended to get off the ship at a port of call other than Castaway Cay, we thought this would be a good way to get to know the areas around where the ships docked. Perhaps we’d learn about the mall right near by at St Thomas. Mr. Happy bounded out onto the stage of the Buena Vista Theater a few minutes late. Obviously a fan of caffeine, he launched into his presentation. Rum cakes were flying into the audience, with the promise that if you fell asleep, one would be headed your way. It is worth noting that even when Christine’s head uncontrollably dropped forward into her lap, no cake came whizzing by. DIAMONDS! TANZANITE! WATCHES! (well, at least that seems interesting) COLOR CHANGING NAIL POLISH! PRIZES AT THE END! GOOD TIMES! He reviewed every store on the “official” shopping guide for both ports in about an hour. We won nothing, and we’d like that hour of our lives back, please. Just add it onto the duration of our next cruise. Our shipmates will thank us. “GOOD TIMES!” became a catch phrase for Christine and I for the remainder of the cruise.

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, and soon it was time for formal night, in Lumiere’s. PJ and her Mom were enjoying Palo this evening, and the boys (Noah and Ethan) were eating with the other kids, so it was just Kim, Paula, and the two of us. We exchanged stories about our respective days. Kim and Paula both had this, “you poor people” look on their face when we talked about the shopping presentation. (Later, PJ and her Mom, too, and A Fat English Gent, too) Ok, so the presentation might be right for some, but not for us. Chris (A Fat English Gent) discussed the finer points of island shopping with us later in the trip: know what you want, know how much it costs back home, and don’t be afraid to walk away. We knew that jewelry wasn’t on our shopping list, but thought we’d look. Electronics were of some interest, but we didn’t see that many stores. I think our, “When in doubt, don’t buy it” philosophy served us well.

10/29/07
Monday began with the now traditional trip to Goofy’s Galley for a small snack. We arrived at the fitness center around 07:30, and got to exercising. Today was Christine’s personal training session, and she was really looking forward to it. She continued to limber up for it, while Sean headed to the Rainforest Room again. Ah, yes, the chair! After about 45 minutes of chair, gentle sauna, fog shower, and regular shower, Sean changed and headed to Topsiders for breakfast. Memo to self: do not go to Topsiders at 09:30 on a gray, windy day. Nobody in his or her right mind is going to sit outside on such a day, and it was hard to find space for just a single person to eat. Meanwhile, back at the Spa…Christine had her session, with a focus on Pilates. She felt that Chris, the male instructor, wasn’t as good as Melissa was on the Wonder in 2005. Thus, she resolved not to schedule any more personal training sessions during this cruise.

Coming soon...a Club, a Duck, and will we ever get to posting photos!

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

The Castaway Club reception was scheduled for 11am, and we wanted to be there early. Upon arrival, we found the line short, the Mickey shaped rice treats tasty, and the water necessary. Hundreds of people were already there, and we were about 10 minutes early. In summary: Brent spoke, we watched brief but interesting video clips, the Captain spoke, and they gave away CC clocks. Jackie’s husband won one, and it was nice to see one of the group win. The Captain did a verbal survey of the crowd regarding what new itineraries we’d like to see. In our estimation, Alaska got an 8 out of 10, Hawaii 10 out of 10, and the Baltic/Mediterranean 2 out of 10. I think I heard crickets when he announced that last option.

Turning left when others turn right, we headed forward, out of the Rockin’ Bar D towards Diversions. Next, we went up the forward stairs to deck 4, and headed aft. Down the stairs by Shutters, and we were ahead of the surge. Our lunch destination was Parrot Cay. Today’s buffet theme was Asian foods. We were pleased with the great variety of choices. Pot stickers, stir-fry, spring rolls, and all the other items you’d expect.
We do get better sushi at our local favorite spot, as they use better rice and more main ingredients per piece. Sean observed a young girl enjoying a strawberry smoothie at a near-by table, and indulged in one as his dessert. So as to avoid brain-freeze, Christine was kind enough to help finish it so that we could head to our next experience.

Next came one of, if not the, highlights of the cruise: Donald “Ducky” Williams. I believe his title is something along the lines of: Senior Animator for Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line. Crew Members handed a ticket to each attendee as they entered the Buena Vista Theater. We took seats in the 4th row, out towards the right side. Several Moonies were already present. Ducky was on the stage next to several examples of his work, and he was already drawing. From his Tomorrowland bowling shirt, Sean now knew he’d seen Ducky at breakfast earlier that morning. We sat spellbound for the next hour, listening to Ducky’s tale of coming to work for Disney. He had just enough time for a couple of questions, and then it was raffle time. Ducky had 18 pencil sketches completed, and was giving to the holders of the lucky tickets. The enthusiasm of the crowd built as the raffle went on, aided by Keyon, the Crew Member announcing the numbers. 727! Well, all quickly figured out that the tickets all began with 727! Then came shouts and groans as each number was announced. It was a great time, and we got some pretty nice pictures, but won no Ducky drawings.

The seas were rough enough that the pools all resembled something at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. This kept the crowds down, so we enjoyed some time at the Quiet Cove pool during the late afternoon just bobbing and floating.

Soon, it was time for our 1800 reservations at Palo. Dressed for success, we were greeted warmly upon our arrival. As this dinner was part of our Romantic Escape at Sea package (REAS), Christine was presented with a single red rose by the host as we were escorted to our table. A nice table for 2, slightly to starboard off the centerline of the ship, we were one row back from the window tables. Fabio greeted us warmly, and immediately replaced the white napkins with black ones.

Next: Palo dinner, romance, and land ho!